A/N: If anyone has spotted any grammatical errors, typos, or inconsistencies, please message/comment about it! It bothers me so much when mistakes just pop up like that, seems to throw of the sentence. Thanks! And enjoy!
Hermione's jaw snapped up with an audible click, and her expression of horror turned into a glare. Cori turned and gave her a questioning look, at which she turned back to the paparazzi and plastered a smile on her face. After a few more minutes another pseudo-celebrity had arrived, and the awkward foursome made their way to the elevator that would take them to the event.
Cori bounced along happily, Blaise's mother was busy looking sultry and aloof, Hermione was trying to conceal her glare, and Blaise, the centre of this delightful situation varied between giving Cori saucy grins and shooting amused glances in Hermione's direction.
They reached the eight floor, and stepped into a showroom already half full. The Zabinis immediately fluttered off to socialize, and Blaise gave Cori a brief "I'll be right back."
The duo went and found a waiter handing out glasses of champagne, and they began people watching. Cori was mildly star struck, hurriedly whispering rapidly to Hermione.
"Oh! That's the actor on that soap my mom sometimes watches! He's so short in real life… And there's the news anchor, Amy something-or-other. That guy really looks like Mr. Kadoori, the real-estate mogul."
Cori babbled on, and Hermione took in the crowd as they snagged another couple glasses of champagne. Everyone was exceptionally well-dressed, and she could see Blaise's mother animatedly holding court near the centre of the room, the sun for a glittering cosmos of rich and famous personalities. And Blaise… ah, he seemed to be trying to extricate himself from two girls (obviously daughters of some other socialites, neither of which had been blessed with good looks) who were clutching at his elbows and refusing to drop the conversation, to which was shaking his head vehemently. His expression became haughtier and more disdainful as the continued harassing him. Hermione watched on, amused, as did Cori, who was instead looking on with a little jealousy. He eventually spied them watching the minor debacle, and scowled, finally doing away with social pretences, wrenched himself away, and walked straight from the girls to his mother. A quick word and he materialized by Cori.
"Let's go. This is getting tedious. I know somewhere that'll be more fun."
Cori looked slightly put out, having wanted to meet some of the personalities, but agreed. The two walked off arm in arm, with Hermione lagging just behind them.
Getting out of the building, they quickly made their way to the crowded club area. Cori was following Blaise, and had grabbed hold of Hermione's hand, not knowing where they were headed. They came to a stop on the fringe of a good sized crowd, all pushing to get through a set of huge wrought iron doors under a similarly designed sign, 'Privé'. Elbowing to the front of the crowd, Blaise nodded to one of the doormen, who walked over with an expectant look.
"I'm on Lionel's list. Blaise Zabini. Plus two."
The man spoke into a small mike attached to his collar, listened for a moment, raised an eyebrow and gestured them through the imposing entrance and into the pounding bass, much to the chagrin of the crowd, many of whom were suddenly testifying to also knowing this 'Lionel'.
Cori gave Blaise a quick look, and he replied, "Oh, Lionel's the manager. Here, I'll introduce you. Hopefully Guillaume is here too, he's a lot of fun." He moved quickly and fluidly into the crowd, leaving Cori and Hermione standing at the bar.
Cori waved a bartender over, "Two glasses of white wine please."
Taking the spare moment, Hermione had decided that she was feeling somewhat out of place in this crowd of moneyed and socially influential people.
"Cori, I think I might go home soon, I'm feeling a bit tired, and Blaise should be able to look after you now, right?"
"But I've only met him once! You really have to stay, Hermione. Please? Besides, Blaise's friend is sure to be good-looking. Why don't you just wait to see how this will play out? I mean, we've only been out about an hour." Cori pouted a little, but also looked genuinely concerned about being alone, so Hermione conceded defeat and nodded reluctantly.
So she and Cori stood sipping their wine, taking in the crowd. Soon, Blaise returned with another man behind him, who seemed to know absolutely everyone in the club. He looked rugged, but boyish, his thick blond hair standing up in tufts, looking like he had just stepped out of a wind tunnel.
"Hermione, Cori, this is Guillaume. Guillaume, Hermione and Cori."
They shook hands, and Guillaume turned, and gave a nod to one of the club employees, who smiled and gestured for them to follow.
Guillaume leaned forward and whispered (or as best he could over the pounding bass) conspiratorially in a rolling Irish accent, "I've partly emptied a VIP room so we can chat. The music is barely a dull roar in there."
With that, they followed him through the crowd, all the while being greeted and eyed curiously, and occasionally not without some degree of jealousy. They made their way through to a nondescript door, near the DJ booth, which was watched over by another bouncer, standing menacingly in the shadows.
The room they entered was filled with plush leather seats, and rough black marble tiling shot through with white and gold gave the sense of a moody boudoir. The walls were a deep wine red, set with several gaudy mirrors and wall lamps. One wall seemed to be made of dark glass, which overlooked most of the club, and appeared to have them situated directly behind the DJ. There were some others in the room, but unlike the fawning masses outside, the three men and one woman glanced up, nodded to them in greeting and continued on with their discussion.
They all sat down, and Guillaume started off the conversation with a casual "These seats were initially velvet, but a party a while back degenerated into an orgy, so we had to get rid of them. A bit of a shame." Cori laughed awkwardly, while Blaise grinned to himself as if in memory, and something spurred Hermione to ask "Is that the most ridiculous thing that's ever happened here?" Which was all Guillaume needed to start regaling them with various obscene and often hilarious anecdotes, mostly involving sex, drugs, and copious amounts of alcohol, as Blaise added his own comments here and there. The conversation drifted about, from the club, to music tastes, travel, the city, and a melange of other topics, and the drinks continued to flow for a good deal of time.
Hermione slowly noticed that Guillaume seemed intrigued by everything she had to say, and simultaneously noticed that she was also very drunk. She caught herself wishing he would move closer to her on the couch. She could feel his tantalizing warmth, and was tempted to lean in towards him. Hermione also realized that she desperately needed to go to the bathroom.
"Excuse me, everyone, but which way is the ladies' room?"
"Here, I'll take you. I need to go myself. Not to the ladies' room, obviously. Though that could lead somewhere interesting." Guillaume stood and led her out. They had to weave their way through the crowd to reach the bathroom, and when they finally reached it, Guillaume turned to her and said "I'll wait for you out here, so you don't get lost on your way back."
She nodded and went in. After using the toilet, Hermione dabbed some water carefully on her face and neck, avoiding her make up, in a somewhat failed effort to sober up a bit. Taking a breath, she went outside and saw Guillaume leaning against a wall watching the crowd, looking extremely at home. He noticed her and smiled mischievously, eliciting her own grin.
Oh shit. I think I'm just as drunk as before.
He held out his hand for her, so they could head back to the VIP room.
They were worming their way through the crowd, and Hermione found herself pushed up against Guillaume's back, smelling his spicy cologne, when suddenly he stopped and turned around to face her, so that they were chest to chest.
He leaned down so his lips were just brushing her ear, and said quite clearly, "There's something about you that makes me want you so badly…" And before he could finish, Hermione turned her head and pressed her lips against his, not quite knowing what had pushed her to do so. She pulled away in confusion, unsure of her actions, and saw Guillaume's eyes hooded with lust, and she gave herself up, kissing him again.
His hands felt hot against the sheer fabric of her dress, his lips insistent against hers, tasting woody from the whiskey he'd been drinking all night. She in turn pressed her body against him, feeling toned muscles moving under his shirt as he held her closer. Her hands were suddenly in his hair, tugging it coarse silkiness gently.
Oh, how I want more of him!
A small part of Hermione was wondering what she was doing, why she was kissing a man she had met several hours ago, and a friend of Zabini's, no less. But the part of her that so desired to rip Guillaume's clothes from his body and take pleasure in every inch of it, the part that had recently become unearthed, the part that now discovered it could do the things it wanted without consequence, was saying "let's do this because I want to, because it's raw and pure, because it's right, and it's what feels true."
For how long they stood amidst the crowd of revellers, first kissing then gyrating against each other, neither knew, but finally they pulled away breathing heavily, flushed, and with equally knowing smiles on their faces.
Guillaume held her hand again, and wordlessly turned and led them back to the door, where another moment of passion ensued. In the middle of it, Hermione opened her eyes briefly, and saw the hulking shape of the bouncer watching them with a raised eyebrow.
Ugh! Well, tonight, I couldn't give a bloody damn what you think, apeman.
They entered the room to find Cori sprawled on the couch with Blaise on top of her, making out heatedly, his hand resting on her exposed hip where her dress had either been pulled or ridden up. Hearing them enter, they sat up, Cori smiling sheepishly, while Blaise had a cocky grin on his face. He glanced at his watch.
"So how was the bathroom?"
Hermione glared at him, while Cori stared cheekily at her, and Guillaume simply looked amused.
The other group of people in their room were still talking, without a glance their way, though their numbers had grown from the previous four, to nine, and Hermione felt that there was a strange and intangible intimacy about their gathering.
Both Guillaume and Hermione sat down, this time much more intimately, and their conversation resumed, turning somewhat understandably to sex, thanks to the lusty tension in the air. Hermione remained silent through most of this discussion, her level-headedness having returned full force. At one point, Cori turned to her and said, "Come on Hermione, tell us something!" To which she answered, "I'm not one to kiss and tell." At which Cori shrugged and resumed her coy recollections of various experiences, though Hermione noticed that Guillaume's curiosity had piqued upon her reply.
Eventually, the conversation developed into rather blatant and obvious exchange of sexual nuances between Cori and Blaise, so Guillaume turned to Hermione and asked if she would accompany him to get another drink. She glanced at their table, littered with glassware, but agreed.
What have I got to loose? He is fairly sexy I suppose… What has gotten into me lately?!
So again, they made their way out to the bar, with several hot, open-mouthed kisses to punctuate their way. Once at the bar, Guillaume ordered their drinks, and said rather abruptly, "This entire situation is terrible."
A little shocked and hurt, Hermione simply looked at him confused.
"I mean, no, not this. I would love to meet up with you again, but what's terrible is that you still have all summer here, and I'm leaving for Europe tomorrow night to visit some friends in Prague. It's rather a shame… Unless you could come with!"
He looked at her hopefully.
Oh damn. I would love to go, honestly. Prague's such an interesting city, it's so steeped in history! And it would be loads of fun, just wandering about. It would be amazing to see all the cathedrals and the historical sites, and wander through the Old Quarter… And I'm sure Guillaume would pay for it, right? After all, he did just invite me…
But despite her thoughts, Hermione took control of herself once more and replied "Oh, it would be amazing if I could go! I've never been before, but I really think I should get to see the rest of Hong Kong. Maybe another time?"
Not to mention I can't afford it, and packing for tomorrow?! Not possible. Plus I just met him today! What is going on with me?
Guillaume gave her a comical pout, and then smiled.
"Ah well, I'm sure I'll be seeing more of you if you're around Blaise. I may come visit him in England."
"Oh, he and I are just… um… acquaintances. We have different crowds."
He looked rather thoughtful at this statement, but then shrugged and asked if she wanted to dance. She smiled in response, and led him towards the undulating crowd.
Some time later, the crowd had begun to thin out, as it was around 4 a.m., and they decided to head back to the VIP room, where Blaise and Cori were no doubt busy with each other. They entered the room, and as expected, Cori and Blaise were as they had been earlier, only this time, Blaise's dress shirt was unbuttoned, and his narrow but chiselled chest was revealed.
However, it wasn't Blaise and Cori's antics that caused Hermione's jaw to drop. She had expected the other group of people to have left, due to the late hour, but instead, they were now engaged in what appeared to be a lusty free-for-all.
And she could feel why. There was an odd static quality in the air, and it seemed to have an underlying scent of sex, which was so subtle it was as if it was but a memory. Hermione felt a powerful urge to explore Guillaume's body but remained transfixed at the scene unfolding.
Two women were occupied with taking turns kissing one of the men, while their hands simultaneously massaged a large bulge under his jeans. A man was kneading the breasts of a woman who was perched on his lap, her legs spread, grinding their bodies together. Another couple was standing with the woman pressed against a wall, her legs wrapped around the man's waist, their bodies somewhat concealed in the shadows. And on yet another couch, two men entertained each other, teasingly pressing, stroking and fondling each other.
As Hermione watched, astonished and fascinated, she sensed Guillaume move behind her, and his hand creep around her waist. His breath was hot against her neck, and she shivered. He moved closer, pull her gently toward him, and Hermione could feel his growing erection pressing against her bum. His voice was ragged and strained.
"Fuck. Fucking Bacchus had to come tonight." He moaned softly, restraining himself. He continued to babble, seemingly to himself. "That's obviously not his real name, but I really don't know what it is. He's apparently some distant descendant of the real Bacchus, the Greek god. When there's a lot of alcohol present, as well as attractive people… Well, you can see what happens." He dragged his heated lips against the curve of her neck as he gestured towards the man being pleasured by the two women.
"Should… should we get them before anything too ridiculous happens?"
Cori and Blaise were entwined feverishly, oblivious to what was going on around them. With some effort, Guillaume moved away from Hermione and tapped Blaise on the shoulder.
"Mate, we should go."
Blaise looked up, dazed, but stood and helped Cori up. She blushed as she rearranged her dress, and suddenly became wide-eyed as she noticed the other group. After collecting their belongings, they left the room in silence, and proceeded out of the club. The night air was refreshing, and Hermione and Cori stood together, smiling slightly. Blaise and Guillaume were discussing something in hushed tones, but quickly turned back to the girls.
"Well, that was an interesting evening. You two heading home now?"
Cori nodded, and stifled a yawn.
"Yeah, I'm more tired than I thought. I'll see you around, Guillaume." She turned to give Blaise a parting kiss.
Guillaume nodded to Cori, and pulled Hermione into a hug, giving her a peck on the cheek, and whispered into her ear.
"Take care, Hermione. I'll see you in England."
She smiled at that, waved somewhat awkwardly to Blaise, and stepped into the taxi with Cori.
As they pulled away, Cori turned to Hermione and exclaimed, "What the fuck was going on in there?!"